Indicator and advertiser.



' PATENTED JULY 3, 1906.

0. H. TOWNSEND. INDICATOR AND ADVERTISER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.23,1905.

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No. 824,890. PATENTED JULY 3, 1906. c. H. TOWNSEND. INDICATOR AND ADVERTISER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.23,1905..

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I UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFTQE.

INDICATOR AND ADVERTISER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

-atenteu'Juiy 3, 1906.

Application filed August 28,1905. Serial No. 275,506.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. TOWN- SEND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicators and Advertisers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electric indicator and advertising device, the object of the invention being to provide an apparatus of this character which will contain a movable indicator provided with figures or characters which are successively presented for inspection and which will also'contain, in conjunction therewith, a second movable belt adapted to carry advertising or other matter and which is moved in unison with the indicator. In conjunction with these parts is an alarm which is operated whenever the indicator is moved to call attention thereto.

The device is especially useful in barbershops or other places where a line of custom- .ers may be waiting, serving thereto to indicate the next in turn. Each time that attention is called to the indicator to announce that it is the turn of another customer the advertising-belt is moved to present for inspection a fresh advertisement. The device also serves to expose for observation advertisements which do not change in addition to those which change at each operation of the indicating device.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken front elevation of the apparatus, the battery being shown diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a broken end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a broken view of the other end. Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view of the electromagnetic mechanism. Fig. 5 is a side view of the same. Fig. 6 is a view of the other side of the same.

' Referring to the drawings, 1 2 represent the top and bottom, 3 4 the sides, 5 the front, and 6 the back, of a case adapted to inclose the mechanism. The back 6 is hinged to the rear edge of the side 3 and is attached by hooks to the other side 4. Extending from the top to the bottom intermediate of the sides are vertical walls or partitions 7 8, the space between said walls being greater than the remaining space between the sides. 9 10 are upper and lower shafts of drums 11 12, said shafts being journaled in the partitions, the upper drum having formed thereon, at each end thereof, sprocket-wheels 13, around which pass sprocket-chains 14, which also pass around the lower drum. On said sprocket-chains 14 are secured at suitable intervals bars 15, over which may be secured by strips 16 and screws 17 the ends of advertising-sheets 18 of paper, canvas, or other suitable material. These sheets thus secured to said bars form, in effect, a continuous band passing around the upper and lower drums, but having the advantage that at any time any one or more of the sheets can be removed and substituted by other sheets, as may be necessary, according to the contracts made with the advertisers. These sheets pass behind a glass window 19 in an opening 20, formed in the front wall 5 of the casing, and are adapted to be displayed through said window successively by means of the following mechanism: The shaft of the upper drum being extended through the left-hand wall carries thereon a gear-wheel 21, which is engaged by a pinion 22 upon a shaft 23, which carries also a ratchet-wheel 24, engaged by a pawl 25, said pawl being secured to a plate 26, extending beneath the ends of a pair of electromagnets 27 and pivoted at the other end. Said plate is also secured to an armature 28 immediately below the poles of said magnets. Said plate vibrates between adjustable stops 29 30, having tips of insulating material, and its end extends between fingers 31 32 upon a lever 33, whose other arm vibrates between insulated stops 34 35, in one position of its vibration being in contact with a spring-arm 36 and in the other position being out of contact therewith.

Said arm 36 is mounted upon a post 80, oi insulating material, and is connected by a wire 37 with the coils around the magnets 27, from which a wire 38 runs to the top of the frame, passing through the top 1 and being there connected to a binding-screw 39, which is connected by a wire 40 with one of the poles of the battery 41. The other pole is connected by a wire 42 with a binding-screw 43, from which leads a wire 44 to a binding-screw 45, attached to a spring-finger 46, which is in contact with the surface of the gear-wheel '21, which has an insulatedportion 47. end of the spring-finger rests upon the metallic surface of .the gear-wheel and at the same time the end 'of the lever 33 is in contact with the spring-arm 36, a circuit is made as follows: from one pole of the battery by the wire 40,

binding-screw 39, wire 38, magnet-coils 27,

wire 37, spring-arm 36, lever 33 to the metallic When the IIO wall 7, thence to the gear-Wheel 21, contact- 1 is extended through the wall 8 and carries finger 46, secured upon a block 81 of insulating material, wire 44, binding-screw 43, wire 42 to the other pole of the battery. This circuit energizes the magnets, drawing up the arm a ture, and thereby advancing the ratchetwheel 24 one tooth and correspondingly advancing the gearwheel 21; but then, the circuit being broken, the magnets are definergized and the armature 28 drops back. The circuit is thus again closed, and the operation is repeated. In this way the gear-wheel 21 is advanced until the end of the spring-linger passes onto an outwardly-extending resilient strip 49, the efi'ect or wlnch is to move the spring-finger 46 outward into contact with a contact-screw 50. This causes part of the current, instead of passing by the lrame and through the magnet-coils, to pass by said contact-screw 50, arm 51, wire 52, the coils of a bell 53, and wire 54 to a binding-screw 55, which is connected by a wire 56 with the binding-screw 39. This causes the bell to ring and attracts the attention of the customer. As the gear-wheel continues to advance the end of the contact-spring 46 passes onto the insulated portion 47 of the gear-wheel, and the circuit is broken and the motion ceases.

In order to start the device in operation, the barber or other operator presses a pushbutton 57, which closes a circuit between two wires 58 and 59, one of them, 58, connected to a binding-screw 60 in contact with the frame of the mechanism, and the other being connected with the bindingscrew 43. The circuit is then closed as follows: from the battery to the binding-screw 39, wire 38, magnet-coils 27, wire 37, spring-arm 36, lever 33, frame of the mechanism, binding-screw 60, wire 58, push-button 57, wire 59, and binding-screw 43, and thence to the battery. This push-button is pressed down su'liiciently long to cause the gear-wheel to advance so that the end of the spring-contact comes into contact with the metallic surface of the gearwheel, whereupon the circuit is compIoted through the gear-wheel and the wire 44, and pressure upon the push-button is no longer necessary.

It will be readily seen that any number of pairs of wires and push-buttons may be used, one for each barber or other operator, any of which will close the circuit and set the apparatus in motion.

The other end of the shaft 9 of the drum 11 thereon a pinion 64, which engages a gearwheel 65,securcd to a roller 66, around which and a lower roller 67 is a band 68, carrying a series of numerals from 1 to 21 or any 6c other suitable number. By the provision of the pinion 64 and gear-wheel 65 these rollers are caused to revolve at a much slower speed than the drums, so that while the drums revolve sulliciently to cause the advertising- 65 sheet 19, of considerablewidth, topass thereover the rollers revolve through a much shorter distance, to cause only a single numeral to pass into view. It will of course be understood that the front wall 5 of the casing is provided with an opening permitting only one of the numerals to be visible in the same manner as is shown in patent granted to me July 18, 1905, No. 794,950.

In order to adjust the lower roller so as to make the band 68 tighter or looser, as may be dcsired,the sha'l't of said roller passes through slotted openings 69 .in the wall 8 and the end 4 of the casing and is adjustably held down by means of strips 70, secured by setscrews 71.

I claim In an apparatus of the charactel described, the combination of drums, an endless advertising device around said drums, an electromagnet and an armature therefor, a pawl oper- I ated by the movement of said armature, a i ratchet-wheel advanced by the movement of said pawl, an operative connection between said ratchet-wheel and drums, a rotary device moving with one of the drums, acontactmaker contacting with said rotary device, said contact-maker and rotary device being in the circuit through the in agnct, the armature by its movement being arranged to break and make said circuit, said rotary device having an insulated portion arranged to move into contact with said contactmaker, whereby the circuit is then broken, and auxiliary means for closing said circuit to start the rotation of said rotary device, substantially as described In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. TOWVNSEND.

WVitnesses:

FRANCIS M. I/VRIGIIT, Bnssm GonrINKELv 

